Football: Cleary’s catch gives Garnet Valley win in thriller

CONCORD — When the game was on the line, Garnet Valley quarterback Steve Flanagan knew he could count on one teammate to make a huge play.

Flanagan targeted fellow senior Tom Cleary a couple of times Friday. Earlier in the night, Cleary, who is the Jaguars’ leading receiver and a superb blocking tight end, had uncharacteristically dropped two passes. Flanagan and interim head coach Rich Boyd Jr. never lost faith in Cleary

“That kid is one of the most consistent, well-disciplined players I’ve ever coached in my life,’ Boyd said. “He rarely makes mistakes and we told him (after the drops) that it was the third mistake he made all season and that included one in practice in maybe 10,000 reps he’s taken so far.’

On fourth-and-11, Garnet Valley had one final shot to save its season. A loss would cripple its hopes of qualifying for District One Class AAAA playoffs. Down by five points, Flanagan found Cleary wide-open in corner of the end zone. Cleary slid on his knees and hauled in a 16-yard pass to give the Jaguars the lead for good with 29 seconds to play. In an instant classic, Garnet Valley upended Haverford in come-from-behind fashion, 44-41. The Jaguars (7-2) looked dead in the water early in the fourth quarter when the visiting Fords (6-3) scored two touchdowns in the span of 10 seconds to grab a 41-29 advantage.

The Jaguars answered with a tear of their own.

“It’s unbelievable. Words can’t describe the feeling I had after the touchdown (to Cleary). Everything, from the fans and it being our homecoming, the entire atmosphere was incredible,’ said Flanagan, who had a game-high 122 yards rushing and four TDs to go along with his 188 yards passing. “We knew we could come back to Tom and we came back to him at the end of the game. He made a good move and I just happened to put good air under it and he caught it.’

Cleary was prepared to come through in the clutch.

“My confidence was pretty low after those two drops. I haven’t dropped many this season,’ he said. “Coach Boyd there was a big play that was going to come my way. I wasn’t sure it was going to happen until it happened. At the end of the game, they called a play to me and I just got open. It was a great throw.’

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